I was taking a stroll across the outskirts of the city, just thinking. It had been a long day, and I needed to figure out how I was going to pay the bills. I purchased my nephew some birthday gifts with the money I needed to use to pay the bills. I felt that he would not remember that I came to his party if I didn’t bring him a gift. It was then that I approached a clear wall, it looked like a giant soap bubble. I didn’t think much of it, now I wish I had. I just walked straight through it, and ended up in a twisted form of reality. Everything kept shifting, even when I stood still the ground appeared to be moving. The buildings were also constantly changing shape. It was hard to figure out where you were versus where you were the moment before. I chose a door, and knocked. Just then, it looked as if each door moved down one space, and I was standing at the neighbor’s house. I wondered which door would open. Would it be the one I believe I knocked on, or the one I was currently standing in front of? What were the laws of this strange universe? Luckily I had my purse. I pulled out a pen and pad and took note of the things I was witnessing. I was going to figure this place out. I had no urgency to return home, so I decided not to panic trying to find my way out of this place. The door I was standing in front of slowly creaked open. A tall shadowy figure spoke with a deep voice, "“yes, miss?”""“I’m sorry to bother you, but I seem to be lost”." He let out a big booming laugh and stepped aside, motioning for me to come in. In the light, I saw that his face was young. He was my age, if not a bit younger. His hair was dark, and his eyes were entrancing. He pulled out a chair for me at his table, and we began to discuss my predicament. “"All the buildings just change! The lilies in the field turn to marigolds at second glance. What is this place?”" "“It has been this way all my life. I can’t identify with your confusion. Since I was introduced to the world, the trees have never stayed the same. You can find yourself in a deciduous forest one moment, come to find that you’re in a coniferous forest, and you didn’t take a step. All you had to do was blink. This place is just this place. Where are you? Where do you think you are? Isn’t it one in the same? You think you are lost, therefore, you are lost. ""“You’re not making any sense. This place doesn’t make any sense! I need a map!”""“The map I have can’t help you my dear. I recall the map of my life in great detail. I remember my first epiphany, or when the sky turned brown. I’m not sure why this, but it was significant to me. I can tell you exactly how I became the man you see standing in front of you today. I possess only the map of who I am, and what I’ve seen. I have no way to show you where you have been.”"

Filled with dizziness and confusion, I held my head in my hands. I reminded myself that I was in no particular rush, took a deep breath, and resumed. Before I could utter a word, the man swept my chair away from the table, and put on his coat." “Let’s go for a walk, let me show you some things”." We walked out the door to a different place than when I had entered. Although I anticipated this, it still deeply surprised me. We were now surrounded by a beautiful metropolis that slightly resembled the city of Vancouver. Beautiful, futuristic buildings that were gleaming while changing shape. With the sunlight bouncing off of the brilliant shine of the buildings, the city appeared to be flaming. It was hard to keep from squinting. He led me down some of the most beautiful alleyways I had ever seen, down a curving path that seemed to be leading to a different destination with every step I took. At a closer look, even the grass we tread was changing its identity from thermal blue, to zoysiagrass. We walked for a good mile, then at random he opened a door that he assured me, he had never seen before, and escorted me inside. There, he pulled out a familiar chair, and hung his coat on a familiar rack. I was astounded. "“How did you.? Where did we.?”", He interrupted by explaining that he couldn’t explain: "“ I love the world I know, because I don’t know it at all. I simply cannot answer too many of your questions, because I have not let confusion plague me deeply enough to require an answer myself. Anything I truly need will present itself to me.”" "“Do you suggest the same will be true for me?”""“If you perceive so.”"

I turned and ventured out his door with a silent goodbye, straight into the alleyway that I came through. Did I remember my purse? Or did I leave it on the man’s table? Crap! I couldn’t bring myself to remember. I searched myself, and realized I didn‘t have it. I considered leaving it behind, but as I took the final steps toward where the giant soap bubble had first been, I realized it wasn’t there. I ran back, and forth down the alleyway to no avail. The trashcans changed to luggage, the cats to raccoons. This was the most confusing predicament I had ever been in. I heard an elevator bell behind me, so I turned around and faced it. I stepped inside, wishing that it would take me back to the man’s house. I realized I didn’t even know his name. "“Ah yes, hello miss. I see you have found your way back here.”""“I was hoping I’d find you again”""“I know. That’s exactly how you got here”""“I think I understand. I found myself in the alleyway that I was searching for. The alleyway I got here through, but when I ventured to the other side, it was just the other side of the alleyway. I was not home, so I don’t know if I understand.""“You must not have been ready to go home. I don’t know exactly why, only you can find that. But everything will fall into place when you allow it to.”""“I wonder why I keep seeking you, when you can never give me a straight answer.”""“There are few questions in this world that can procure a straight answer.”""“What can I call you for a name?”"He bellowed with laughter." “Call me Lucian, what can I call you miss?”" "“Dakota”""“Well, Miss Dakota, if you decide you should like to go home, it will be located right through that door. Until then, enjoy the ride.”" I found myself fiddling with the strap of my purse, which was draped over my shoulder. I didn’t pick it up, I was already wearing it. The laws of this universe were difficult to acclimate to, but Lucian was right, I was not ready to go home just yet. "“You’re not fooling anyone. There is nothing here that happens against your will. If you truly wanted to leave, you would be gone by now. There is a part of you, if only, that wishes to stay here.”"I could feel my face flush, and my eyes sparkle with the "“you caught me“" expression. I smiled, and relaxed. "“You’re pretty interesting, Lucian. I only wish I could make sense of you, and this whole experience.”""“It’s your straining to understand that is perpetuating your confusion”."

He intrigued me. This whole place intrigued me. I felt an electricity running through my mind that I had not experienced in years. It was a child’s curiosity being a newcomer to the world. An exhilarating stimulation that could not be silenced. Not here, in this place where you can’t know anything for certain. I understood what Lucian meant by loving his world because he didn’t know it. I had so many more burning questions for Lucian. "“How do you support yourself? Do you have a money system?”""“We support ourselves by making sure we only take what we need, and not to excess. The universe takes care of us. As long as we are not greedy, there is enough of everything to go around. One day I may live in a mansion, the next, a shack. But I do not miss the mansion, I am simply satisfied with having my basic needs met. We are not preoccupied with possessions. They are meaningless in the scheme of things. We are only concerned with knowledge, as it is infinite and cannot be lost.”" "“How could I belong here?”""“You will instinctively know where you belong. Seek and you will find.”"